The Chinese film Monster Hunt was only released in mid-July, but already the film has grossed an astonishing 2B yuan, around US$320m, to become the number two movie ever at the Chinese box office (Furious 7 is the current leader).

The film, a live action/CG hybrid that tells the story of a young man who conceived a monster by mistake, was directed by Raman Hui who worked on the Shrek franchise. Despite a slightly rocky road to release - the film’s original main actor was replaced in re-shoots - Monster Hunt has been praised for its surreal and fantastical premise, eccentric characters and its innovative visual effects and animation.

Visual effects supervisor Jason H. Snell and visual effects producer Ellen Poon oversaw the VFX effort, with Base FX the lead vendor. More than 400 artists at Base in China contributed 812 shots ranging from ‘cute’ creatures to environments and effects. At Base, the overall visual effects supervisor was Tang Bingbing who was also joined later by visual effects supervisor Nick Hsieh.

In the VFX breakdown video, Base FX shows how they crafted some of the monsters of the film, including the main character and film favorite, Wuba.